Attorney Sonia Das, based out of I&F’s Indiana office, recently secured two favorable decisions on behalf of Indiana employers. In the first, a memorandum decision (not for publication), the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the decision of the Full denying a claim that the insurance carrier acted with a lack of diligence in the handling…
Inman & Fitzgibbons is pleased to announce that Jynnifer Bates has become a partner with the firm. She has served as associate attorney with our firm in the Chicago office since 2007 after graduating from The Ohio State University Michael E. Moritz College of Law. We congratulate her on this achievement and wish her continued success . Please…
As previously reported, I&F defended a case in which the claimant alleged that removing and installing tires with an air gun, in conjunction with the use of a torque wrench to tighten nuts, resulted left carpal tunnel syndrome, lumbar radiculopathy, cervical radiculopathy, and left ulnar neuropathy. Prior to trial, partner Scott McCain thoroughly investigated the petitioner’s…
As an Illinois workers’ compensation defense attorney for the past 19 years, G. Steven Murdock of Inman & Fitzgibbons has not yet seen it all, but he and his firm have seen many claims handling mistakes, mistaken assumptions of law, and obligation oversights in the handling of claims by employers, carriers and third-party claims administrators. In this 90-minute…
The Fourth District Appellate Court recently addressed the issue of who can obtain a PPD award when a case is litigated after the petitioner passes away. In Bell v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Comm’n, 2015 IL App (4th) 140028WC, Ms. Nash, the injured employee and original claimant, reached MMI for her work-related injury on August 27,…
Managing partner Tom Fitzgibbons scored an impressive victory from the Commission and for all Illinois employers in overturning an award of permanent total disability awarded for an alleged mental-mental stress claim. In that case, the claimant, an attorney and CEO of a bank, alleged that she suffered sudden, severe mental trauma in June 2009 after hearing…
Partner Steve Murdock and the Illinois Chamber will be presenting a webinar on August 18, 2015 on the issue of defending alleged wage differential and PTD claims in Illinois. As our clients know all too well, the costs to employers for employees suffering career-ending injuries can be staggering. With this webinar, you will learn how the…
In a case recently tried by Partner Colin Mills, the Arbitrator found that Petitioner failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that she sustained accidental injuries to her bilateral hands due to repetitive work activities that arose out of and in the course of her employment with Respondent. As such, Petitioner’s claim for…
According to Gov. Quinn and the IWCC, “Indications are coming in to show the 2011 changes to the Workers’ Compensation Act are delivering significant savings to Illinois businesses.” The National Council on Compensation Insurance reported a 19.3% drop in loss costs since 2011. To read the press release, go to http://www.iwcc.il.gov/PR090414.pdf In addition, a 2014…
According to news published by the IWCC, 2015 medical fee schedule rates will increase 1.70% on January 1, 2015. According to the IWCC, the 2015 rates will be 38% lower than medical inflation since the fee schedule took effect in 2006. Section 8.2(a) of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act provides that, each year, fee schedule…
